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BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022 A3 SPORTS CRANE BOYS, GIRLS BOTH WIN CLASS 1A STATE BASKETBALL TITLES AT BAKER HIGH SCHOOL Crane holds off Redsides to claim its first boys title BY JAYSON JACOBY jjacoby@bakercityherald.com With the pressures starting to stack up on their shoulders, the Crane Mustangs shrugged off the weight and soared. Facing the prospect of cap- ping a perfect season with the school’s first boys basketball state championship, the Mus- tangs responded to a valiant rally by South Wasco County to finish the Class 1A title game with a 12-3 run that gave Crane a 62-53 victory before a packed crowd Saturday night, March 5, in the Baker High School gym. “This is a feeling I’ve never felt before,” Eric Nichols, Crane’s second-year head coach, said as Mustang fans thronged the court in jubilation. “These boys,” he said, his voice trailing away as though he couldn’t summon the words to describe their accom- plishment. “It’s a great group.” Crane’s first boys state title didn’t come easily, or without drama. The Mustangs led 21-12 af- ter the first quarter, but then South Wasco County’s elec- trifying senior guard, Oscar Thomas, took over. Thomas scored 12 straight points for the Redsides in the second quarter as South Wasco closed to within 30-24. Thomas scored both inside, with a couple of tough run- ners in traffic, and with a pair of 3-pointers. South Wasco’s Ian Ongers scored the first two baskets of the third quarter to get the Redsides to within 34-32, the closest they had been since the first quarter. Crane’s Jared Zander swished a 16-footer to push the Mus- tangs’ lead back to 41-36, but Thomas hit another 3-pointer and then found Ongers with a nifty pass for a basket that tied the score at 41 with 2:50 left in the third quarter. Crane responded with a 6-0 run capped by Zander’s 3-pointer, and Crane fresh- man Cody Siegner scored in- side to boost the lead to 49-42 at the end of the third quarter. Siegner also scored the first Bulldogs Powder Valley boys finish 5th The Powder Valley boys basketball team placed fifth in the Class 1A boys state tournament. After beating Nixyaawii 60-45 in a quarterfinal game on Wednes- day, March 2, the Badgers lost to South Wasco County 59-40 on Fri- day, March 4. The Badgers struggled offensively, shooting just 22% for the game, 13 of 59, including just 1 of 13 3-pointers. South Wasco, meanwhile, made 50% of its field goals in the first half and ended up at 46% for the game, on 23 of 50, including 9 of 16 3-pointers. Cole Martin led Powder Valley with 13 points. In the 3rd-place game on Saturday morning, March 5, Powder Val- ley lost 61-44 to Crosshill Christian. Powder Valley’s shooting woes carried over from Friday’s game, as the Badgers made 18 of 61 shots against Crosshill Christian, 29.5%. The Badgers missed all seven of their 3-point tries in the first half, while Crosshill Christian made 6 of 9 in racing to a 37-20 lead at halftime. Cole Martin led Powder Valley with 14 points. The Badgers finished the season with a 24-4 record. Crane makes Class 1A history with dual titles Based on records from the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), Crane is the first Class 1A school to win the boys and girls state basketball championship in the same season. Girls tournaments date to 1976. The first tournament for the state’s smallest high schools — then known as the B division — was in 1977. For more than 20 years there were four divisions — AAA, AA, AA and B, later reconfigured as 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A. Two new classifi- cations — 5A and 6A — were added for the state’s larger schools in 2006. Crane joins these schools in winning both girls and boys state bas- ketball titles in the same year: • LaSalle (Milwaukie), 1981 (AA) and 1984 (AA) • Stayton, 1995 (3A) • Jefferson, 2010 (5A) • Portland Christian, 2010 (2A) • Jesuit, 2011 (6A) basket of the fourth period to push the lead to 51-42. But the Redsides responded with a quick 8-0 spurt, capped by Brock LaFaver’s inside bas- ket that cut the lead to 51-50 with 5:31 left. It was almost all Crane af- ter that. Sophomore point guard Carter Nichols (the coach’s son) weaved his way inside and lofted a shot over 6-foot-6 LaFaver, off the glass and through. Nichols also drew a foul and made the free throw to give Crane a 54-50 lead. Zander then made consecu- tive 3-pointers in a little more than a minute, the second, from Bulldogs At State Continued from Page A1 The four boys quarterfinal games on Thursday will take place at North Bend High School, while the four girls quarterfinal contests, also on Thursday, will be a few miles away, at Marshfield High School. Semifinals and the cham- pionship games for both boys and girls will be at Marshfield. Coos Bay and North Bend are separate, but adjoining, cities on the southern Oregon Coast. All tournament games will be broadcast live on the NFHS network (subscription re- quired) at nfhsnetwork.com. Statistics are also available at osaa.org. The Baker teams will leave Baker City Tuesday, March 8 at 5:30 p.m. and spend the night at Hood River. The Bulldogs will practice somewhere in the Eugene area on Wednesday, March 9, then continue to Coos Bay, where they’ll be staying at the Best Western Holiday Hotel. The players will have dinner Wednesday night at the North Bend High School cafeteria. BOYS • Play Junction City in a quarterfinal game Thursday, March 10, at 2 p.m. at North Bend High School. • Baker is making its first state tournament appearance since 2007, when the Bulldogs won the school’s second boys state championship. GIRLS • Play Corbett in a quarterfinal game Thursday, March 10, at 7 p.m. at Marshfield High School. • Baker won the last state tournament, played in 2019. The 2020 and 2021 events were canceled due to the pandemic. the left corner, giving Crane a 60-52 lead with 3 minutes left. Zander, a junior who had four 3-pointers overall and led Crane with 16 points, credited his teammates for making his two key shots possible. “They found the open guy and it happened to be me,” he said. Nichols had 15 points for Crane. Siegner and Mitch Clark added 11 each. Eric Nichols said South Wasco was “outstanding,” but he credited his team for respond- ing to every Redsides rally. “These guys answered the bell,” Nichols said. “It’s a team effort. Team basketball.” lost 44-40 to Madras on Jan. 28, and lost 58-55 on Feb. 18. Corbett is the highest-scor- ing Class 4A team this sea- son, averaging 56.4 points per game. The Cardinals allowed their opponents an average of 32.4 points per game. Baker is a defense-minded squad, giving up 31.2 points per game. The Bulldogs aver- age 51.9 points per game on offense. Baker and Corbett had three other opponents in common this season besides Madras. The results: Mustangs state champions again BY JAYSON JACOBY jjacoby@bakercityherald.com The referees surprised Crane senior Dani Clark by telling her to take off the black sleeve wrapped around her left arm. It might have been the Mustangs’ best assist during the Class 1A state cham- pionship basketball game Saturday night, March 5, between the Mustangs and Damascus Christian at Baker High School. Clark, who started wearing the sleeve after having surgery on her elbow, returned to the court without the sleeve. She is, by the way, a left- hander. Sleeveless, Clark made four 3-pointers during a 23-0 Crane run that spanned most of the second quarter and propelled the Mustangs to a 56-47 win and their second straight Class 1A state title. Although Crane’s longtime coach, Stub Travis, considers this a threepeat. The Mustangs won the 2020 title 64-44 over Country Chris- tian in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, capping a 26-0 season. The official 2021 tourney was canceled, but Crane also went unbeaten during the abbreviated season in June 2021 and won a 16-team tournament, also at Baker High School, that concluded that schedule. And now the Mustangs have another championship trophy. Crane also won the girls state title in 2004, also with Travis at the helm. As Crane fans congregated on the court in the Baker gym to celebrate the win over Damascus Christian on Sat- urday night, Travis said the Mustangs’ three-year run — a 72-1 record — has been ac- complished despite changes in the roster each year. “Our kids have great heart and they’re great athletes,” Travis said. “I’m really proud of this group.” Saturday’s win over Damas- cus Christian brought Crane more than a championship. The victory also avenged the only blemish on the Mus- pandemic while Baker was pre- paring for a quarterfinal game at Forest Grove. The 2021 tournament was also canceled. If Baker beats Corbett, the Bulldogs would play in a semi- final on Friday, March 11, at 8:15 p.m. at Marshfield High School against the winner of Thursday’s Cascade-Madras quarterfinal. Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald Damascus Christian’s Laelie Rasmussen defends Crane’s Alexia Ballard during the state tangs’ record since 2019 — a 54-53 loss to Damascus Christian at a tournament in Burns on Dec. 11, 2021. Saturday’s championship game looked to be just as competitive early. After the Eagles took a 9-3 lead on Laelie Rasmus- sen’s rebound basket, Crane scored the final 6 points of the first quarter to forge a 9-9 tie at the break. Rasmussen made a short jumper early in the second quarter to give Damascus Christian a 13-11 lead. It was their last. Clark made consecutive 3-pointers in a 33-second span to give Crane a 17-13 lead. But the Mustangs were just getting started. Skye Miller swished a 3-pointer. Crane then forced two straight turnovers, which the Mustangs’ poised sophomore point guard, Kortney Doman, converted into one free throw and a layin to boost the lead to 23-13. Taylor Joyce and Clark each made a 3-pointer, Les- lie Doman hit a 15-footer and Clark capped the game-changing surge with her fourth 3-pointer with 46 seconds left in the first half. Crane led 34-13. Clark said that although it was “pretty weird” to have to remove her sleeve, it didn’t af- fect her shooting. “After the first shot went in I just got into a rhythm,” she said. Damascus Christian’s Em- ily Powers was fouled on a 3-point try and made two of on Jan. 7 • Baker: won 82-49 on Dec. 18. Mazama • Junction City: won 63-42 on Dec. 28 • Baker: won 64-53 on Dec. 17. Banks • Junction City: won 51-46 on Dec. 30 Boys • Baker: won 85-84 on Dec. 4 Baker is returning to the The Baker-Junction City state tournament for the first match up pits two teams that, time since 2007, when the Bull- at least statistically, are quite dogs beat Stayton to claim the different. Baker is the highest-scoring Mac-Hi school’s second boys state title, Class 4A team, averaging 68.2 • Corbett: won 58-28 on and first since 1938. Dec. 20 Baker qualified for state with points per game and scoring at least 80 points six times. • Baker: won 66-10 on Jan. a dominating 80-52 win at 14, won 62-21 on Feb. 4 Gladstone on Friday, March 4. Defensively, the Bulldogs have allowed 56.9 points per game. The Bulldogs are 19-6 in Junction City, meanwhile, coach Jebron Jones’ fourth Molalla has the stingiest defense • Corbett: won 61-42 on Jan. season. among Class 4A teams, al- They will play top-seeded on Saturday afternoon, March 21, won 45-35 on Feb. 10 5, in the Baker gym. • Baker: won 50-33 on Dec. Junction City (22-3), which ad- lowing just 38.2 points per game. The Tigers average vanced with a 54-39 win over The Bulldogs enter the 11 53.9 points on offense. Molalla on Friday, March 4. tournament with a 20-5 re- If Baker beats Junction Molalla is one of four com- cord. They will open the tour- Estacada nament Thursday at 2 p.m. • Corbett: won 57-23 on Feb. mon opponents for Baker and City, the Bulldogs would play in a semifinal on Fri- Junction City this season. against Corbett, which beat 2, won 72-20 on Feb. 21 Baker beat Molalla 85-68 on day, March 11, at 1:30 p.m. Banks 66-48 on Saturday, • Baker: won 59-4 on Dec. 10 at Marshfield High School. Dec. 11. March 5. Baker returns to the state Their opponent would be The others: Corbett, a school in the Co- tournament as the defending the winner of the quarterfi- lumbia Gorge east of Trout- champion from the last official nal game between Philomath dale, is 21-3. Two of the Car- tournament, in 2019. Klamath Union and Seaside. Girls dinals’ three losses were to It was Baker’s first state girls • Junction City: won 49-28 Baker qualified for the state league rival Madras, a team basketball title. tournament by routing — coin- that Baker beat 59-43 in a non- The 2020 tournament was cidentally — Marshfield 50-20 league game on Jan. 7. Corbett canceled due to the COVID-19 Come and see us for all of your vision needs • A great selection of frames to choose to get the look you want. • We carry both regular and prescription sunglasses. • In house repairs and special packages starting at $ 99 Eagle Optical 3705 Midway Drive • Baker City 541.523.2020 three shots to cut the halftime lead to 34-15. Travis said the 23-0 run, fu- eled by six 3-pointers, didn’t shock him. “It wasn’t a fluke that we shot like that,” he said. “We have four guards that can shoot like that on a given night.” The Eagles got within 10 points, at 40-30, late in the third quarter, but Crane scored the final 7 points of the quarter — 5 by Kortney Doman — to push the lead back to 17 enter- ing the final period. Damascus Christian made three 3-pointers late in the game — two by Sierra Hale — to get as close as 52-45 with 55 seconds left, but the Mustangs made enough free throws to thwart the comeback bid. Crane’s final points were particularly poignant. During the final minutes the Mustang fans chanted “we want Kelsie,” a reference to Crane senior Kelsie Siegner. Siegner, who led the Mus- tangs to the 2020 state title with 25 points in the cham- pionship game, injured her knee in the fourth quarter of the final game of the June 2021 tournament. Although she hasn’t been able to play this season, Travis had her sub in during the final 30 seconds Saturday. Siegner — the 2020 Class 1A player of the year who also made a cameo appearance in Crane’s quarterfinal win over Jordan Valley, making a basket — was fouled, and she swished both free throws with 11.8 seconds. “I loved it,” Travis said of watching Siegner score the final points of her high school career. Kortney Doman led Crane with 19 points. Clark added 14 — all during the decisive sec- ond-quarter run. Rasmussen led the Eagles with 19 points. Crane’s dominating sea- son included a rare win over a Class 4A team — and on the same court where the Mus- tangs won the state champion- ship Saturday. Crane rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Baker 49-46 in a holiday tournament at BHS on Dec. 28. More about the Bulldogs Please turn to Page A5 for a story about the Baker boys playoff game, and to Page A6 for a story about the Baker girls clinching a state tournament berth. 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